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City - We can compete

Brian Marwood has spoken of his excitement after Man City were pitted against Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli.

Last Updated: 25/08/11 8:05pm

Manchester City football administrator Brian Marwood has spoken of his excitement after the club were pitted against Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli in the UEFA Champions League group phase.

City qualified for the competition for the first time after finishing third in the Premier League last season, and will be regarded as dark horses to go all the way after continuing to spend heavily on new players this summer.

Roberto Mancini's men were nevertheless in danger of being handed a tough group after finding themselves in the third pot of seeds for Thursday's draw in Monte Carlo.

While the final outcome is not the worst-case scenario, City will have to perform well against three sides with European pedigree.

Fantastic group

"It's a fantastic group with four fantastic sides," Marwood told Sky Sports News.

"It's going to be extremely competitive. I genuinely believe there's four teams who can compete for the two places on an even keel."

Marwood revealed the club were looking forward to making their debut in the competition.

"It's a fantastic part of Manchester City's history to be here for the first time in Europe's premier club competition," he added.

"We really believe we can go into this competition and do well with the spirit that we have."